The Lord Privy Seal sat Speaker this Day, in the
Absence of the Lord Chancellor.

Bill to prevent Frauds in receiving the King's Monies.

ORDERED, That the Lord Chief Baron of His Majesty's Court of Exchequer is appointed to attend the
Committee for the Bill to prevent the defrauding the
King of His Monies, on Saturday next, at Three of
the Clock in the Afternoon.

King to be acquainted that the Poll Bill is passed.

The Duke of Albemarle was appointed by the House
to signify to the King, "That the Poll Bill is passed both
Houses of Parliament."

The Lord Viscount Mordant gave the House humble
Thanks, for giving him so long Time to advise for the
putting in his Answer to the Impeachment of the House
of Commons against him; and, in Obedience to their
Lordships Command, now presented his Answer in
Writing, with a Desire that the same may be communicated to the House of Commons.

Then the said Answer was read, as followeth:

"The humble Answer of John Lord Viscount
Mordaunt, Constable of His Majesty's Castle
and Honour of Windsor, to certain Articles of
Impeachment, exhibited against him by the
Commons assembled in Parliament, for several
High Crimes and Misdemeanors supposed to
be committed by him.

L. Mordant's Answer to the Impeachment of H. C. against him.

"The Lord Viscount Mordaunt, not being conscious to
himself of any Malice or Purpose of Evil to any
Man alive, nor having had other Displeasure against
William Tayleur, in the said Articles named, than what
arose from his insolent and provoking Deportment
towards His Majesty, in disobeying His Warrants,
and his Lordship in the Execution of his Office
(under whose immediate Government he is by the
Offices he holds in Windsor Castle), and from the Variety of Complaints which have been reiterated to
his Lordship by the Country against him for his Oppression in those Offices, and from the manifest Abuses
by him committed, in mispending the Revenue of the
said Castle, and defrauding the Artificers, as also
clandestinely and fraudulently endeavouring to pass
Accompts without Controul, which Matters are now
depending in the Courts below at Westminster Hall,
accounts it a singular Unhappiness, that so worthy a
Body as the Honourable House of Commons, for
whom his Lordship hath ever had so great Respect,
should think themselves concerned in that One Man's
Person to accuse him, in their Names, and in the
Names of all the Commons of England: And he
did well hope that it being offered to that Honourable
House on his Behalf, that he would (with Leave
from your Lordships) be ready to answer Mr. Tayleur
in any Action at Law, and wave his Privilege, they
would have spared themselves and your Lordships
the Trouble of this Examination, and him the Misfortune of being accused by them: Therefore, praying your Lordships that no Informality in this his
Answer, nor any mistaken Word or Expression, may
be construed to his Disadvantage, and saving to himself all Privileges and Rights belonging to him as a
Peer of this Realm, and all Advantages of Exceptions to the Insufficiency and Informality of the said
Impeachment, humbly answers,

"To the First Article,

"Which concerns the Dispossession of William Tayleur of certain Rooms in Windsor Castle, about the
Seventeenth of March, One Thousand Six Hundred
and Sixty, the said Lord Viscount Mordaunt answereth, That he was very ignorant of those faithful Services Mr. Tayleur had done to the late
King of Ever-blessed Memory, or of any Sufferings
upon the Account of his Loyalty to Him; which had
he known, they would have obliged him to a due
Consideration of him; and doth affirm he is yet as
great a Stranger to his Merits, as he was at that
Time to his Person; and heartily wishes his Obedience and Integrity to His Majesty that now reigns
could have justified that Character of him: But, to
satisfy your Lordships how ill he deserved from His
Majesty and the Lord Mordaunt in the Matters of
this Article, saith, That, in the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Sixty, when His Majesty
was pleased, on His Grace and Favour, to confer upon him that important Trust of Constable
and Governor of the Castle of Windsor, he found
Mr. Tayleur in Possession of that House which belongs to the Chancellor of the Garter; that, the
First Installation being presently to be solemnized,
His Majesty was pleased, by His immediate Warrant of the Twenty-fourth of February, One Thousand Six Hundred and Sixty, to command, that
within Twenty Days the Possession of that House,
in habitable Condition, should be delivered to the
Chancellor of the Garter; with which Warrant Mr.
Tayleur being acquainted, and having perused it, positively refused to remove upon that Warrant; but
he was advised by the Lord Mordaunt to consider
better of it: However, he afterwards returned the
same Answer, with somewhat more Stubbornness; and
his Wife being importuned by his Lordship to persuade her Husband to yield Obedience, she said, she
would acquaint her Husband with it: All those fair
Ways being essayed, and finding no Obedience, rather
than suffer His Majesty's Commands to be disputed
by His Servant, and contumaciously disobeyed in His
own House, his Lordship found it necessary, in Observance to the said Warrant, to command a Serjeant
of the Garrison, with some few Soldiers, to remove
his Goods and Family, yet with all Civility imaginable;
which they punctually observed, and assisted them in
carrying out their Goods. As to the Affrightment
of the Child out of its Wits, his Lordship cannot
think the Sight of Soldiers in Windsor Castle should
have such Effect, the Child having been seen playing
and well after that Time of Removal, and, as his
Lordship is informed, was sick of the Worms, and
this Affrightment never spoken of till this Occasion.

"The Dispossession was indeed by Soldiers; the
King's Commands not being otherwise to be executed
there, no Sheriff or other Civil Officer being permitted to come into the King's House and Garrison,
by Order of the Place: And these were the only
Causes of this Dispossession, and not any Concernment in his Election to Parliament, which is most
evident, in that he did stand for Burgess, wherein
the Election was free, and was elected by the Commonalty of the Town; but his Election afterwards
was avoided by the House of Commons. As to the
seizing Mr. Tayleur by Soldiers out of the Precincts
of the Castle, and carrying him into the Castle, without Warrant or any lawful Cause, his Lordship faith,
That the Time of his securing was Three Weeks before his Election; and that the Place where Mr.
Tayleur was apprehended, was within the Jurisdiction
of the Castle (as he taketh it), for that the Courts
were there held by the said William Tayleur, as Clerk
to the Constable of the Castle, who, being a Counsellor at Law, would not have kept Courts there as
his Lordship's Deputy, if the same had been out of
the Jurisdiction of the said Castle. And his Lordship
faith, That he being informed and assured that the
said Mr. Tayleur was not a Prisoner for Debt; and
the said Mr. Tayleur having insolently disobeyed His
Majesty's Commands concerning His own House, and
spoken several scandalous and opprobrious Words
against his Lordship and his Family, his Lordship
did command an Officer and some few Soldiers to
carry him to the Guard, where he was detained some
few Hours, and after set at Liberty; and his Lordship denies that any Bail was tendered to him for his
Enlargement: And his Lordship being Constable and
Governor of the said Castle (it being then a Garrison for the King), and believing that it might be a
great Encouragement to others to disobey Commands,
if this Insolence were not taken Notice of and punished; these were the true Causes of his being
sent for; and hopes it will not be imputed to him as
done arbitrarily, or in Contempt of the Law, to
which he hath always shewn ready Obedience, and
hath asserted its Authority in the worst of Times, with
the Hazard of his Life.

"To the Second Article, he saith,

"That, as Constable of the said Castle, his Lordship claims to have the Disposition of several of those
Offices in Possession of William Tayleur by colour of
his Patent; but denies any contemptuous Words
spoken of the King's Great Seal, or otherwise than
to the Effect and Purpose to vacate his Patent, which
his Lordship was informed by his Counsel to be void
in Law.

"To the Third Article,

"His Lordship denies any uncivil Addresses to Mrs.
Vachell, or of any Threats of Ruin to her Family,
as mentioned in the Article.

"To the Fourth, he saith,

"That there were several Rooms in the Timber Yard
in the Possession of the said William Tayleur, all
which (except such as he claimed to belong to him as
Surveyor of the said Castle) did belong to several
Artificers, to some by Patent, and to others by constant Usage and Enjoyment; and that, by His Majesty's Order under His Privy Signet of the Twentyeighth of February, One Thousand Six Hundred Sixty
and Four, the Rooms belonging to the Artificers of
the said Castle are commanded to be restored to them;
and, that his Lordship might be sure to do no Man
Injury, he desired several Gentlemen of the Neighbourhood, who had been well acquainted with the
Offices and Usage of the said Castle (whereof the
said William Tayleur was One), to make Enquiry, and
certify concerning the said Rooms; which all of them
(except Mr. Tayleur) accordingly returned, "That
the Rooms possessed by the said William Tayleur belonged to divers Artificers;" whereof Mr. Tayleur
having Notice left at his House, his Wife and Family
there refused to deliver Possession according to His
Majesty's Commands, but instead thereof returned
reviling Language; and at this Time when he was
removed from the said Rooms, the said William Tayleur was suspended from the Place of Receiver by an
Order of His Majesty and Council, and Mr. Dudley
Rouse placed in the said Office, the said Rooms
claimed to belong to the said Office were delivered
to the said Person that was placed in the said Office,
and the rest to the Artificers to whom they belonged;
but the Rooms as Surveyor are still in his Possession,
without any Disturbance.

"To the Fifth Article, the Lord Mordaunt faith,

"That the Suggestions in His Majesty's Warrant of
the Thirtieth of November, One Thousand Six Hundred Sixty and Five, for restraining William Tayleur
from going out of the said Castle, are true; and
that he was taken by the Marshal and brought into the
Castle without any Soldiers, and during his Restraint
there he was not a close Prisoner by his Lordship's
Directions, as by his Lordship's Warrant will appear;
neither did he at any Time refuse Bail for him, for
none was tendered. And as for Henry Marten's Liberty, his Lordship saith, it was not done with his
Privity or Consent; but saith, he hath since enquired
thereinto, and finds the Fact to be, that the Lord
Lovelace, being Lord Lieutenant of the County,
coming to Windsor, sent to the Officer, to desire Leave
for Henry Marten (his Brother-in-law) to dine with
him, who accordingly gave him Leave, and sent the
Marshal with him, who brought him back again.

"To the Sixth, he saith,

"That the First Habeas Corpus was returnable immediate, and was delivered in his Lordship's Absence,
he being then attending His Majesty at Oxford, and
did not know of the same till after the Return thereof.
The Second Habeas Corpus was not delivered to his
Lordship till Saturday Afternoon at Windsor, and the
Term ended on Monday following; so as, by reason
of the Shortness of the Time, he could not make
Return thereof; and his Lordship doth deny that he
called the Person that delivered the said Writ,
"Rogue;" or used any reviling or reproachful Language against him for the Delivery of the said Writ;
and upon the Pluries Habeas Corpus, his Lordship
made a Return thereof in due Time, and the Court
of King's Bench saw Cause to hold him bound by
Recognizance to appear the last Day of the Term, to
answer any Information that should be exhibited
against him for the Matters in the Warrant.

"To the Seventh, he saith,

"That he knows not what Mr. Tayleur might hear
concerning his future Imprisonment, nor what his
Guilt might make him apprehend; but that his Lordship had not the least Thought of it himself. He
assured a Noble Peer of this House, who writ to him
on Mr. Tayleur's Behalf, that he would not imprison
him; neither was he afterwards imprisoned by his
Lordship, or did any Warrant or Command from his
Lordship issue to that Purpose. And as to the Allegation, that he hath been enforced to leave his Wife
and Family, 'tis surely a great Mistake; for he
oftentimes since kept Courts publicly at Windsor,
without Interruption, or Cause of Fear.

"Having thus most plainly expressed to your
Lordships the Truth of his Proceedings, he
humbly submits the same to your Lordships
Judgement."

To be communicated to H. C.

Upon this, it is ORDERED, That a Copy of the
Lord Viscount Mordant's Answer to the Articles of
Impeachment by the Commons assembled in Parliament,
in the Name of themselves and of all the Commons of
England, against his Lordship, for several High Crimes
and Misdemeanors supposed to be committed by him,
shall be communicated to the House of Commons; and
that the Lords Committees for Privileges shall meet this
Afternoon, to consider in what Manner it shall be communicated; and also to consider how to acquaint the
House of Commons of their unseasonable Message
Yesterday, in putting this House in Mind of the Lord
Viscount Mordant's Business, when the Lords had appointed this Day for that Purpose; and to make Report
thereof to this House.

Message from thence, with a Bill; and to return Ld. Strangford's.

A Message was brought from the House of Commons,
by Sir Thomas Clargies and others; which consisted of
these Particulars:

1. To return a Bill enabling a Sale of Lands, to pay
the Lord Strangford's Debts; wherein their Lordships
had made some few Amendments, to which the Commons concur with their Lordships.

2. They presented their Lordships with a Bill passed
the Commons, intituled, "An Act for settling an Estate
in Trust, for the Benefit of Mrs. Elizabeth Pride
and her Children;" to which their Lordships Concurrence is desired.

Burying in Woollen, Bill.

The Earl of Bridgwater reported, "That the Committee have considered the Bill for burying in Woollen
only; and they think it fit to pass as it is, without
any Amendments."

Then

Hodie 3a vice lecta est Billa, "An Act for Burying in
Woollen only."

The Question being put, "Whether this Bill
shall pass?"

It was Resolved in the Affirmative.

Message to H. C. that the Lords have passed it.

A Message was sent to the House of Commons, by
Sir Nath. Hobart and Sir Thomas Estcourt:

To let them know, that the Lords have passed the
Bill for burying in Woollen only.

Pride's Bill.

Hodie 1a vice lecta est Billa, "An Act for settling an
Estate in Trust, for the Benefit of Mrs. Elizabeth
Pride and her Children."

Answer from H. C.

The Messengers sent to the House of Commons return this Account:

That they have delivered their Message.

King will come to the House, to pass Bills.

The Duke of Albemarle signified to the House, "That,
according to their Lordships Command, he had acquainted the King, that the Poll Bill is passed both
Houses; whereupon His Majesty intends to come Tomorrow Morning, at Half an Hour past Ten of the
Clock, to give His Royal Assent to that Bill, and
any other Bills that are ready."

Message to H. C. to acquaint them with it.

A Message was sent to the House of Commons, by
Sir Nathaniel Hobart and Sir Thomas Estcourt:

That the Lords have received Information that the
King intends to come to this House To-morrow Morning,
about Ten of the Clock, to pass the Poll Bill and other
Bills.

ORDERED, That the Lord Cornwallis is added to the
Committee for Privileges.